On His Desk by Mia Faye
Chapter 1
AVA
I let out a sigh when the plane touches the ground. I’m not frightened of flying but no one is a hundred percent comfortable when they’re thousands of feet off the ground. My stomach clenches and butterflies flutter in my stomach. It suddenly feels like I made a rash decision in coming to New York.
Then I remind myself that I couldn’t have stayed in the same city as Barry and his new wife. The chances of running into each other were slim, but every time I thought about them, I was unable to breathe. This is a well-needed change, I remind myself.
A chance to put the heartache and humiliation of the last couple of weeks behind me.
“Are you fucking kidding me!”
The deep voice cuts through my thoughts.
“Why do I always get the incompetent temps?”
I can hear the sneer in the voice. I fight the urge to pull the blue curtain open that divides first class from the rest of us, to see his face. I hope he’s as ugly as the words he’s uttering.
Being a personal assistant makes me sensitive to the rudeness of bosses. I know how it feels to be on the receiving end of a boss’s bad mood. The plane jerks to a stop and nausea rises up my throat. I inhale deep slow breathes. I have no reason to be frightened of a new start.
Miley, my best friend is waiting for me. I won’t be alone.
“You had better make sure there’s a fucking car there when I get off this plane!”
He can’t even let me worry in peace, I think with irritation. The seatbelt sign goes off and the Pilot’s voice comes over the intercom wishing us all a good stay.
I’m about to click open my seatbelt when the flight attendant opens the curtain dividing first class from the rest of us.
“What?” he barks into his phone and then turns as he wrestles to get his carryon bag out of the overhead compartment.
My mouth falls open. What I see does not match with the persona from behind the curtain. Six feet of temptation in a hand-tailored suit. His gaze moves to me and an electric current surges through me. Time stops and my whole body comes awake. His sky-blue eyes stare into me as if he can read my soul with a single glance. His gaze drops to my lips and then further to my cleavage. He undresses me with his eyes. I push my chest out unconsciously and part my lips.
My eyes take in his sexy full lips. Pure, male sexiness.
The bag suddenly loosens. He stumbles and the moment is broken. I feel as if I’ve just run a marathon. My breath comes out fast. He lets out a string of curses and I remember what he is. A jerk. A sexy as hell jerk, but a jerk none the less. I look away as he turns and stalks to the exit.
My eyes follow him until he disappears. Only then does my breathing return to normal. I lean back into my seat and shut my eyes. There’s something fundamentally wrong with me. My thighs are damp, and my panties are soaked. From a stranger who I haven’t even exchanged a single word with. I’ve never reacted that way to a man. And worse, an unlikeable man. It’s not a good start to my stay in New York. I let out slow breaths and then open my eyes. I unbuckle my seat belt and as I lean forward to grab my handbag from the floor, I see it.
A cell phone. I reach for it. I have no doubt that it belongs to the sexy jerk, its silver and expensive looking. I gather my things and hurry out of the plane. I sprint past the other passengers into the terminal and search for the tall, blond-haired figure. He’s nowhere to be seen.
After a moment I give up. I collect my two cases bulging with clothes and head out of the airport.
“Ava!”
The jerk and his phone fly out of my mind when I spot my best friend. I let go of my luggage and run to her. We fly into each other’s arms and cling to each other. God, I’ve missed her. Miley has been my best friend since the first day their family moved next door to ours. We attended the same schools and have been inseparable since then.
She places her hands on my shoulders. “I can’t tell you how good it is to see you,” she says, a huge smile on her face.
“Likewise,” I say. “I can’t tell you how nice it is to see a friendly face in a strange city.”
“You’ll get used to it in no time and when you do, you’ll never want to leave.”
I don’t bother to tell Miley my plans. That won’t happen. New York is a sojourn. A place to hide until my heart heals. Home is and always will be Washington DC and I plan to go back at some point. I forget all about the sexy jerk until we get to Miley’s place.
I see his phone in my handbag when we’re unpacking. Or rather, I’m unpacking, and Miley is flounced on the bed asking me about everyone in our small hometown.
“My, you’ve come up in the world,” Miley says staring at the shiny new phone.
“It’s not mine,” I say and launch into the story of how the phone came to be in my possession.
Miley is wide-eyed as I describe the man. “I bet its someone who really needs their phone,” she says. “You have to give it back. Search the phone, his name is bound to be somewhere.”
“I can’t,” I tell her. “It’s locked.”
Miley grins. “That’s what YouTube is for.”
I type in the phone specifications into YouTube and instructions on how to unlock it pops up. We are quiet as I follow the instructions and bingo! The phone unlocks.
“Success!” I grin at Miley.
She shifts next to me on the bed and peers at the phone. I scroll through it and even go to the gallery. Pictures of him come up and Miley whistles.
“He’s hot! I’d like some of that,” she says, and I giggle.
Miley doesn’t do relationships, but she always has a ‘friends with benefits’ kind of relationship with some man at any moment.
She frowns. “Wait, I think I know this face.”
As a personal stylist, Miley knows a lot of people. She’s quiet for a moment as she taps on the bed. “I’ve got it!” she says. “He’s a partner in one of those investment firms. Not sure which one. Anyway, he’s rich and sexy. You have to take the phone back, Ava and you have to meet him. You need a man to make you forget Barry.”
At the mention of the name Barry, my spirits drop. Miley notices this immediately. She touches my shoulder. “I’m so sorry Ava. Barry was an asshole. Forget him.”
Tears flood my eyes. “I was such a fool. I actually believed him when he said he was with her for good publicity. That their respective companies looked good together.”
“Don’t blame yourself. It was just bad luck that you happened to fall in love with an asshole. That’s one horrible experience. But don’t let him spoil your chances for real happiness.”
I had made so many mistakes, number one had been to fall in love and have a relationship with my boss. I now understood why workplace relationships were discouraged. Not only had I lost the man I thought I loved, but I’d also lost a job.
“Too late. What about you? New York has loads of sexy single men.” It hurt too much to talk about Barry.
“Yeah and they’re too busy making money to want a relationship,” Miley says.
We chat easily, the one year we hadn’t seen each other melting away. We’ve always had that kind of friendship. One that defies time and distance.
“Are you excited about your interview?” Miley says. “You owe me one. I had to trade in a few favors to get you on the list.”
“I appreciate it,” I tell Miley. “More so if I get the job.”
She waves a hand in the air. “Don’t stress. I make enough to take care of both of us.”
I don’t say anything but that’s not an offer I’m willing to take up. Miley is one of the kindest people I know. She has always been generous to a fault. In school, she would gladly give up her packed lunch to one of the kids from the poor families. New York has not changed that about her. But I am not going to take advantage of her. I’ll move out as soon as I get a job.
“And we’re going to have some fun!” Miley shouts. “I’ve been too busy to have some real fun but now that you’re here…I see us coming back home with a pair of hot sexy men, ravaging them all night, and then sending them on their way in the morning.”
I laugh at the image her words paint. “You know I don’t do one-night stands,” I remind her.
Our looks are deceiving. Miley cultivates a dark, elegant appearance but is the wild one of the two of us. I, on the other hand, have red hair and love short sexy miniskirts but I’m the conservative one. At least when it comes to sexual adventures.
“I recommend them,” Miley says.
I laugh. “I’m sure you do.” It hits me then that I’m a free agent. I can do exactly as I please. “You know come to think of it, it doesn’t sound half bad now.”
“That’s my girl,” Miley says.
I’m out of my hometown where everyone knows me and I’m here in New York where nobody knows me. It’s time to have simple harmless fun. If I find I am attracted to a man, I’ll flow with it and have mindless sex with him. I’ll be Miley for a change.
“I have a bottle of champagne. Want to toast to that?” Miley says and jumps up from the bed.
I follow her to the kitchen. She fishes a bottle of champagne from the fridge and pops it open. She pours it into two flutes, hands me one, and raises hers.
I do the same.
“To lots of fun-filled nights,” she says. “And lots of sex.”
We clink glasses amid giggles. For the first time in weeks, I feel hopeful about the future.
***
I dress carefully the following day. I wear one of my trademark miniskirts, black high heels, and a white blouse.
“You look hot!” Miley says when I enter the living room, jacket slung on my arm. “Don’t forget to drop the phone off first. I really want to hear how that goes.”
It’s just like Miley to be interested in my meeting with Michael Fowler instead of the interview. “It won’t go well, I assure you. He was a jerk and jerks don’t change.”
“You’d be angry too if your ride from the airport was missing,” Miley points out.
“Whatever.” I forget the jerk and pour myself some coffee. “What are you up to?”
“Same thing I do every morning,” Miley says. “Replying to comments on my social media posts.”
“Your job is so hard,” I tease her.
Miley is the most hardworking person I know. She has grown her Personal Styling company from zero clients to a sizeable list. We chat as I drink my coffee and then I have to leave if I’m going to drop off the phone and be on time for my interview.
Michael Fowler’s office is in the same building as my interview. I try not to read too much into that. Like we were destined to meet. I’m romantic in that way. But that was the old Ava. The new Ava knows it’s just a coincidence and all I want is to drop off his phone like a good human being and be on my way.
Though I wouldn’t mind one last eye full of his gorgeous face. It would be even better if he didn’t open his rude mouth. Miley gives me the spare key and sends me off with a myriad of instructions.
Downstairs, I catch an Uber and give the driver the address. I lean back and stare at the busyness of New York. I love the energy and the business of the people. No one looks at anyone else on the street. Everyone is focused on where they are going.
That’s who I want to be now. A person focused on her career and nothing else. The ride is short. If I get the job, I won’t have a long commute to work. I pay the Uber driver and hop out into the sunshine. It’s a beautiful spring day and though there are no flowers to smell in New York, the skies are a beautiful shade of blue and there’s a nice breeze in the air.
My insides clench as I walk into the building. The thought of seeing Michael Fowler again is both exhilarating and frightening. I’d neglected to tell Miley my physical reaction to him. That was my shame and secret.
I’d allowed myself to be convinced by Miley that he was probably a good guy having a bad day. I squeeze into the elevator and get off on the fifth floor. Heart pounding, I walk through a pair of swanky glass doors to a carpeted reception area.
“Hi,” I say to a pretty looking dark-haired woman. “Is this Michael Fowler’s office?”
She smiled back. “Yes, it is. Do you have an appointment?”
“The thing is, I’m here to return something I think may be his,” I tell her. “Has he lost anything recently?”
She shoots a nervous glance at the wall. “I don’t really know. I’m new here. I’ll ask him.”
“Okay, thanks.” When she leaves, I look around with interest.
Leather seats are arranged around a glass table on one end and there’s an atmosphere of calm and class. I’m not surprised as Miley had said that he and his partner were very wealthy. Still, I expect more activity for an investment firm.
I smooth down my skirt as I wait and adjust my blouse. I hear muted footsteps and look toward the door. The dark-haired receptionist returns wearing an apologetic face.
“He said you can leave whatever you have with me. I’ll make sure he gets it,” she says.
Red hot anger courses through me. What a rude asshole! I should have known that the conversation I overheard in the plane was his real personality. I think fast. I really do want to give back his phone, but I also want to teach this asshole a lesson.
I smile sweetly. “No probs. May I use your bathroom please?”
She smiles, probably relieved that I haven’t insisted on seeing him. “Sure, come this way.”
I follow her out and down the hallway. She points to the washroom doors and I go in. In the cubicle, I quickly fish out his phone and pull down my panties. I can’t help but grin when I imagine how horrified he’ll be when he sees his new screen saver.
